Despite repeated rejections from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a pair of star crypto women, Ophelia Snyder and Cathie Wood will give another shot to launch a Bitcoin ETF in the US.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the pair of female crypto stars, Ophelia Snyder, 29, and Cathie Wood, a 66 years old CEO of digital assets management firm ARK Invest, have joined hands to launch a collaborative effort for a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in the US.
Ophelia Snyder spent her early twenties making marine biology documentaries for the Discovery Channel. Now, at 29, she’s managing $2.5 billion in a risky corner of finance https://t.co/3wcpMUBn18
— Bloomberg (@business) January 30, 2022
Several firms have applied with US SEC to launch a Bitcoin ETF but the regulator hasn’t seemed to warm up to this idea just yet. Kryptoin, WisdomTree, Fidelity, VanEck, and Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital have applied for a Bitcoin ETF. But the regulator still hasn’t approved any Bitcoin ETF yet.
As Crypto Economy reported, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler was open to Bitcoin Exchange-Traded funds (ETFs) but with the strict SEC’s rules for mutual funds. As Crypto Economy reported, October 19, 2021, was a historic day for Bitcoin (BTC) as the world’s first Bitcoin Futures ETF by ProShares, under the ticker symbol BITO, went live on NYSE that generated an astonishing $1 billion in volume and over 24 million shares traded on its very first day.
However, the ETF that tracks the price of real Bitcoin is yet to be approved by the SEC. It is unlikely that the entity will loosen its grip shortly and bless anything but regular futures-based ETFs.
But that is not stopping Ophelia Snyder to give it another try. She spent her early twenties making marine biology documentaries for the Discovery Channel. She is now a well-known name in the world of crypto.
Snyder co-founded 21Shares in 2018 to build sophisticated crypto investing technology. Now valued at $700 million, 21Shares charges about a 2% management fee for 15 ETPs in 4 countries. With over $2.5 billion AUM it is on track for $60 million revenue this year.
Her partner Cathie Wood is also a crypto veteran whose ARK Invest is managing billions of dollars in AUM. Both female crypto stars will now direct their efforts to launch the first Bitcoin ETF in the US. To give more push to her plans, Ophelia Snyder has already opened an office in New York, where crypto-friendly Mayor Eric Adams has publicly proclaimed his support for the asset class. All Cathie Wood and Ophelia Snyder have to do now is to convince the SEC about a Bitcoin ETF.
However, the relationship between Cathie Wood and Ophelia Snyder is not completely new. In May 2021, Wood joined the board of Amun Holdings Ltd, the parent company of 21Shares established in 2018 by current CEO Hany Rashawn and President Ophelia Snyder. In June 2021, Ark Invest also filed with the SEC to offer a Bitcoin ETF, ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, with 21Shares.
